Using Gold Nanoparticles as Passive Sampler for Indoor Monitoring of Gaseous Elemental Mercury

Abstract

This study reports a functional passive sampler for monitoring gaseous elemental mercury (GEM). The material consists of gold nanoparticles (AuNP) deposited forming a film on thiol-modified glass slides. AuNP colloid was synthesized using sodium citrate, resulting in a size of 24.2 +/- 0.8 nm, as determined by transmission electron microscopy analysis. For the indoor test, AuNP films were placed into Petri plates. One part of the lot was kept exposed to the laboratory's atmosphere and the other part was stored in closed plate (control). The films were removed from both plates along a month and analyzed using a direct mercury analyzer. A linear relationship between Hg retention and exposure time was obtained until the 23(rd) day, which allowed to calculate a GEM retention rate of 2.2 ng g(-1) day(-1)

the maximum retention capacity was around 50 ng g(-1). This study provides an efficient method for indoor monitoring of GEM using AuNP films as passive sampler.